


Temporal Meetings

by Jx4G



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Established Relationship, M/M, Non-Chronological, Non-Linear Narrative, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jx4G/pseuds/Jx4G
Summary: Yaku should have noticed back then. Before him now, it radiated off of Kuroo. Magic. Old magic. The kind that shifts the ages and makes kingdoms fall. But even knowing this, Yaku still took his hand.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou & Yaku Morisuke, Kuroo Tetsurou/Yaku Morisuke
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Temporal Meetings

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Across the Ages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9164887) by [noyabeans (snowdrops)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/noyabeans). 



> **This story is directly inspired by Across the Ages by noyabeans (snowdrops). I used the concept for a workshop in my creative writing class on non-linear stories, and I liked how it turned out, so I thought I might as well post it. Please please please go read noyabeans' story! It's absolutely amazing!

**Yaku, Year 7**

In the shade of the trees at the entrance of the forest, Yaku could clearly see at the small, seven year-old boy running barefoot through the open field, his black hair windblown and wild. He didn’t see Yaku, too engrossed in playing. It was a bittersweet feeling for Yaku, seeing Kuroo as a child, as a mortal. Even now, Yaku could see the sparks of magic from Kuroo’s fingers, sparks that would eventually draw Bokuto’s attention.

Yaku has never told Kuroo about these visits, knowing the warlock would tease him for his sentimentality. It was playful argument they had many times. Yaku would always bite back, claiming, “Sentimentality is characteristic of mortals. You seem to have forgotten that in your old age.”

Kuroo would smirk, then, sparks of gold flashing through his black eyes. “You, love, have never really fit the definition of mortal.” It was teasing, but Kuroo’s smile would always slip into that goofy grin that was much too affectionate for Yaku to stand his ground. 

In this place, half a mile outside the cobblestone town Kuroo was born in, Yaku could feel that same goofy grin pulling at his lips as he watched this Kuroo laugh delightedly while igniting the tips of the tall grass. Smoke twirled around the boy as the grass sizzled into nothing.

___________

 **Kuroo, Year 972**

Yaku had gone again, to another time. He never told Kuroo where he was going or that he was even leaving, but Kuroo had gotten used to the mystery. Sometimes, though, Kuroo would remember glimpses of a boyish face and eyes that seemed to change colors in the light.

Kuroo had long ago learned that someone born with the ability to travel through time was never one to sit still and solve problems in the present. Kuroo, on the other hand, had been alive so long that there were years he did nothing but sit still. As a warlock, his magic came with some perks – even at this moment, Kuroo was healing a gash on a fox’s leg – but catching a time traveler was not one of them.

After finishing the spell and watching the small fox hop away with a newfound energy, Kuroo felt his skin sear, and he saw the blackness creep further up his skin, nearly at his elbows now. His fingers looked as if they had been burned, blackened by heat rather than his own blood.

___________

**Yaku, Year 562**

When they first caught each other’s eyes, Yaku had waved off the similar appearance, but the man’s knowing smile made him pause. He reasoned that this may be a descendant of the Kuroo he had met nearly two hundred years earlier.

“I wondered when I would see you again,” the man spoke, his deep voice thundering through Yaku in the same way Kuroo’s had when they first met. He knew then that this man was without a doubt Kuroo Tetsurou. He had the same sly grin that had dared Yaku to dance with him. Kuroo stepped closer, standing nearly a head taller than Yaku, forcing Yaku to strain his neck to look him in the eyes.

“I think you have the wrong person,” Yaku responded, attempting to keep his voice even, despite the hitch in his breath. “I don’t remember ever meeting you before.”

Kuroo’s sharp eyes tore into him, ripping away any secrets Yaku tried to hide. “How cruel,” he chided, “And after such a remarkable night at the fire festival.” The light flickered in Kuroo’s eyes and it reminded Yaku of the bonfire that night, when the flames had created a glowing haze around Kuroo as they danced. “I knew then,” Kuroo continued, “that I wouldn’t forget you.” His voice dropped, a whisper that rumbled through Yaku. “And that’s saying a lot, considering how far back my memory goes.”

Yaku should have noticed back then. Before him now, it radiated off of Kuroo. Magic. Old magic. The kind that shifts the ages and makes kingdoms fall. But even knowing this, Yaku still took his hand.

___________

**Kuroo, Year 383**

Kuroo knew immediately when he saw the man that he was a time traveler. There was nothing physical that tipped him off. No, the other man was styled almost perfectly to the fashion of the time. But time travelers always carried that anachronistic aura with them. They’re similar to immortals, radiating a power that feels timeless. Not that Kuroo had met many time travelers. There weren’t many to speak of. But that made them all the more noticeable.

The last time traveler Kuroo had met, called Daishou, had been rather prickly. His eyes had darted around, treating everyone like a potential threat. He had been even less friendly when he discovered Kuroo was a warlock.

This man, though, looked at everything as if it completely captivated him, his eyes dancing like the flames of the bonfire in the center of town. He seemed rather naïve, Kuroo thought, and he approached him, hoping to tease the man before he disappeared to another time. Kuroo towered over him, which made him feel all the more confident that he had the upper hand. He would, of course, learn much later on that Yaku’s small frame was no indication of his ability, as he watched Yaku take down enemies countless times with stunning ease.

Yaku was always stunning to Kuroo. From the first moment they met, Yaku had captivated him. No matter how ridiculous it sounded, Kuroo had been drawn to Yaku. When asked, Kuroo would always say it was because of Yaku’s eyes. Eyes that looked like the sunset on the day he was reborn.

___________

**Yaku, Year 24**

Seeing Kuroo as a mortal always rattled Yaku a little. He would never speak to him. It was risky, it could change everything about Kuroo. He knew, because Kuroo had told him, that if he had learned about Yaku, about them, he would seek out immortality long before he was supposed to. He would be too young, too inexperienced, and so, the ritual could kill him. That kind of burden terrified Yaku, and he saw it in mortal Kuroo’s eyes. They were a deep brown and looked at the world like it was a mystery to solve. Kuroo’s eyes in the future were almost black. They were tired and indifferent to the world outside of him and Yaku. He wondered sometimes if perhaps Kuroo was better off mortal. But he pushed that thought down. A mortal Kuroo would die. Yaku would die, too, one day, of course. But time travelers lived much longer than average mortals, and Yaku wasn’t sure he could handle returning to a time when Kuroo wasn’t there.

___________

**Kuroo, Year 28**

Kuroo had been invited by Bokuto to join the ritual that would make him immortal. He had been told his power set him apart, meant he would have success in the ritual where others had failed. The ritual was essentially a regeneration spell, but a warlock’s healing magic was not meant to be used on their own body, and death was a powerful adversary to magic. Many warlock’s died during the ritual. To the point that most never attempted it. Kuroo was hesitant himself, but his mother had just died. She was the only family he had left, and he had been shaken by his newfound fear of death. That’s when Bokuto had found him. A charismatic warlock that charmed Kuroo into bed with him. He convinced Kuroo he could succeed with the ritual, the same way Bokuto had, and they would live out eternity together. So Kuroo went with him, deep into the forest. He took the ritual blade, the sunlight that crept through the trees glinting off the gems on the hilt, and plunged the sharpened point deep in his chest.

___________

**Yaku, Year 383**

It was only one night, Yaku told himself. One night with one person wouldn’t change the world. So, he let himself get swept away by Kuroo, get dragged into his rhythm. He allowed himself to live in the moment with a man who, despite his youthful appearance, spoke as if he had lived several lifetimes.

___________

**Kuroo, Year 929**

It was not a surprise to Kuroo when the tips of his fingers began to blacken one day. He had been pulling weeds from the garden when his fingers began to burn like they were covered in acid. Bokuto had told him this is how it would feel. It would sear his skin and spread itself until it tore him apart. He had entered his last century, and his one thousand years were almost up. He knew it was coming, but he had still allowed himself to forget about it, to absorb himself so much in the now that the future was inconsequential.

Back when Bokuto had died, Kuroo had longed for it to come. Bokuto had been unsuccessful in completing the ritual, the life draining from him as Kuroo scrambled to find anything, do anything that could save him.

He wandered alone for nearly one hundred years before he met Yaku, then nearly another two hundred before he met the mysterious time traveler again. After that moment, Kuroo’s life was mainly measured by the years between Yaku’s visits, those years becoming a haze where Kuroo had little concern with the world around him. He was like this before they had met, but Yaku’s absence now made it harder. When Yaku left, Kuroo lost track of time completely, because it didn’t matter. Not to a time traveler.

But the pain continued, relentless. It was a constant ache at first, but now it had progressed into sharp pains that shot through his nerves. In the past, he sometimes wondered what would happen if he didn’t attempt the ritual again. He would die, he knew that. But maybe he could convince Yaku to stop him from doing the ritual in the first place. Perhaps he could then die with Yaku, rather than live long beyond Yaku’s short time on Earth. Yaku would never agree to this, he knew, but the thought tortured him that one day he would be waiting and waiting for Yaku to return but he would never come.

He and Yaku argued about Kuroo forgoing the ritual many times, and Kuroo was still unsure what the best answer was. And he still had his doubts now as he rummaged through an old chest and pulled out the ritual dagger.

___________

**Yaku, Year 1,025**

The warlocks’ ritual was not the only way to become immortal. For Kuroo, it was now the only route, since completing the ritual the first time had locked him in a never ending battle between his magic and death. However, Yaku had other options available.

A blast of heat hit Yaku in the face as he tended to the bloomery for the smelting process. The now liquid cinnabar ore glowed red as Yaku poured it into a container, mixing it with the other ingredients for the elixir.

He hadn’t told Kuroo about his plan. He would never agree to Yaku becoming immortal. It was a double-edged sword, Kuroo had always said. Which was true, Yaku conceded. Kuroo was immortal now, but only if he completed an extremely dangerous ritual every thousand years. This was a fact that Yaku had grappled with for a long time. That long after he died, Kuroo would still be wandering the Earth until the pain started again and he had to complete the ritual once more. For Yaku, it was all he could do just to stand by Kuroo’s side.

The blackness had reached Kuroo’s face, and Yaku knew it wouldn’t be much longer before Kuroo vanished to complete the ritual in secret, not wanting Yaku to see it. It was a horrible thing to experience alone.

With that thought, Yaku brought the container to his lips and swallowed the concoction in one gulp. The nausea hit him immediately, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before the tremors started and it became difficult to breath. It wasn’t much different than what Kuroo had to do. Die and be reborn.

___________

**Kuroo, Year 1,702**

It had almost been seven hundred years, so it was getting closer to when Yaku would have to make the elixir again. Over time, they had gathered a rather impressive collection of cinnabar ore to prepare for it.

Kuroo had been angry when he first learned of what Yaku had done, but he moved on from that as quickly as he could. The still fought over it at times, but there was no use dwelling on what couldn’t be undone. Yaku was immortal now, with all the perks and burdens that entailed. Kuroo wasn’t going to lie, though, and say he didn’t feel a strange sense of relief to know Yaku would be with him for as long as they could guarantee it. It made him feel guilty considering the process Yaku would have to go through every seven hundred years just to say by Kuroo’s side.

Yaku was still restless, but he tended to stay in one place more often now. Perhaps because he no longer felt like he wasting time by not moving. Having Yaku as a constant now brought a bittersweet feeling of peace that Kuroo hadn’t felt in some time.


End file.
